This Week In History, 5-19-11

Updated on Wednesday*:

The following reports are taken from
The Calhoun Chronicle archives:

1911, 100 years ago

T.R. Stump has planted several thousand catalpas seeds on his
farm across the river from Grantsville. If the seeds grow, he will start a grove
of that kind of timber. It is said to be one of the lightest, toughest, and most
serviceable timbers grown, and of very rapid growth. Should his experiment prove
successful, we predict that many land owners will soon be trying the same plan.

The secretary of state has issued a charter to the Gilmer and
Parkersburg Railroad Co. Incorporators are S.A. Hays, C.M. Bennett, R.L. Ruddell,
D.U. O’Brien and R.F. Kidd. The company contemplates building a railroad from
Gilmer to Glenville and ultimately to Parkersburg.

Clark Wilson, son of the venerable James Wilson, of Big Springs,
returned recently from Richwood, where he met with an accident that necessitated
the amputation of one of his legs midway between the knee and thigh. A log
struck him, crushing the bone. It is a great handicap in his fight through life.

1961,
50 years ago

Building the new Grantsville bridge is making some changes in
the town’s businesses.

Garland Stump, who has operated Garland’s Grocery on Southside
for the past 17 years, is having to move his store to a new location. He will
move some time within the next two weeks to the Foster Poling building on Main
Street.

In connection with this move, he has bought out the grocery
department of Gunn’s Dept. Store from P.P. Gunn, and is planning a completely
modern grocery store in the new location. Some new fixtures are being added, and
the building has already been completely renovated. Exact moving date was not
known yet, but the new store should be in operation soon according to present
plans.

Gunn, who has been selling groceries since 1918, is to continue
his store, selling dry goods and household hardware. The space now occupied by
the grocery department will be utilized for an expanded dry goods department,
with added room for display of merchandise and easier shopping for customers.
One of the things planned for the store is an expanded shoe department. Changes
will be made soon after the groceries and fixtures have been removed.

It has been reported that the work on the bridge approaches on the southern end
will start very soon.

1986,
25 years ago

Seventy-three gobblers were taken in Calhoun County during the
recent spring kill, according to unofficial statistics released by James R.
Hill, District game biologist of the Dept. of Natural Resources. In 1985, the
total was 61. For the entire state, the kill was 4,741, a new record.

According to Hill, District VI, a 10-county area that includes
Calhoun, reported 853 gobblers killed in 1986, com-pared with 787 in the
previous year.